what went wrong??? (feeding incident)

[FloridaHogs]

I to feed all mine on the day they arrive. Almost all f/t, so there is really no added stress to placing a f/t mouse or rat outside of the hide. Granted most of my newbies are colubrids.....

[littleindiangirl]

Uh oh, you guys are making me second-guess my decision to feed adult rats. Although my boy is pretty darn big, still bigger around than the rat is.
Hmm... I might go for it anyway.

I'm sorry, do you know how large an adult rat is? Serious question.

[python baller]

First off new BP's should be left alone for a minimal for a week to settle in to their new environment, no touching~taking it out~handling, no trying to feed it, etc. It will only stress the snake out more.

Second off adult BP's don't need to eat a rat any larger then a small. A snake really shouldn't eat anything larger then it's widest girth size.

Third off please take your new snake to a herp vet, blowing bubbles and it spitting up are both major signs of a respiratory infection. If you do not know of a herp vet near you please state your location and we will try to find a herp vet near you.

As for the head wound, a triple antibiotic cream with out pain killer in it will do to help heal and fight off any infection. The vet can check it out when you take her in to get her checked out for a RI.

Last NEVER EVER feed a life rat to your snake by dangling it by it's tail. That's just going to piss it off and it's either going to fail around, bite you, or bite your snake.

good advice, but the snake wasn't stressed. i chose too big of a rat. i feel so bad. i didn't realize it until i dropped the darn thing into the tank. it will never happen again.

[python baller]

What was the snake fed prior to you receiving it?

First off your biggest mistake was feeding a prey item that was too big. Always err on the smaller side, especially when you are not familiar with the snake and it's normal behavior.

I've never heard of a snake being stabbed in the head by the aspen. Are you sure the rat didn't bite the snakes head as well? That doesn't sound right to me.

Now I do offer food to ALL of my snakes on the same day, even if they are new. I'm usually offering f/t so it's not an issue, and if the snake looks interested I feed. If not I just wait until the following week. I try and base my judgement on the individual snake.

it was fed live rats b4 i got it.

it might have been one of the hides in her tank. i didn't bother taking that one out as i didn't expect the kill to take as long. man, i'm a dummy. i will apply some neosporin as soon as i can get ahold of some.

[tweets_4611]

Make sure you get the neosporin WITHOUT painkillers.

Feeding live can be very safe if done properly. Now that you know to start with a smaller size prey, it should be better next time. And it never hurts to go too small until you get to know the snake. Once your sure of what he can handle, moving up prey size isn't a big deal.

Next time you feed, pre-sent the room. When I do it, I set the box the rat is in on top of my girls tank. This gives them time to get into a hunting mode. Once your snake seems interested (poking his nose out of his hide kinda thing) you can put the rat in. I wouldn't take out the hide that the snake is in, since they are ambush hunters and like to feel safe when they eat, but I usually take out the other hide and the water bowl, just to give her space, and so the rat doesn't hide. Keep something like that cloths hanger around, just in case the rat is able to turn and get to your snake once your snake strikes. I always make sure to watch until she starts to swallow the rat before I go off to do whatever else, but some shy feeders need privacy to eat. Figuring out what your snake wants/needs to eat is part of getting to know your snake.

Personally I would take the snake to the vet to check for an RI. It can't hurt, and if he does have one, it's better to catch it now than later...

[starmom]

I'm sorry, do you know how large an adult rat is? Serious question.

This is a really good question; thanks for asking it Connie
I get my rodents from The Mouse Factory and their small rats are 55g while their medium rats are 80g. Many of my snakes get mediums and a few get the small size.
It is really important to include gram weight when referring to rodents by size~ otherwise, it gets really confusing

[python baller]

Make sure you get the neosporin WITHOUT painkillers.

Feeding live can be very safe if done properly. Now that you know to start with a smaller size prey, it should be better next time. And it never hurts to go too small until you get to know the snake. Once your sure of what he can handle, moving up prey size isn't a big deal.

Next time you feed, pre-sent the room. When I do it, I set the box the rat is in on top of my girls tank. This gives them time to get into a hunting mode. Once your snake seems interested (poking his nose out of his hide kinda thing) you can put the rat in. I wouldn't take out the hide that the snake is in, since they are ambush hunters and like to feel safe when they eat, but I usually take out the other hide and the water bowl, just to give her space, and so the rat doesn't hide. Keep something like that cloths hanger around, just in case the rat is able to turn and get to your snake once your snake strikes. I always make sure to watch until she starts to swallow the rat before I go off to do whatever else, but some shy feeders need privacy to eat. Figuring out what your snake wants/needs to eat is part of getting to know your snake.

Personally I would take the snake to the vet to check for an RI. It can't hurt, and if he does have one, it's better to catch it now than later...

i didn't even have time to do that. i had the box(w/ the rat inside) in my hand about 1 foot from the top of the tank and she was already in full attack mode. i guess she was really hungry.

i applied some neosporin last night to her but she's in one of her hides so i don't wanna bother her right now.

[Somed00d]

i feed all my adult females medium rats (90g-170g). if your feeding live its best to stick to smalls and be prepared with something to stick in the rats mouth in case its biting i use my hemostats.